The Middle S9E14 Review

After taking two weeks off, The Middle is back again, before it takes another two weeks off. This episode is the final one for Norm MacDonald, who plays Mike's brother Rusty, who in this episode brings Sue a gift.

S9E14 "Guess Who's Coming to Frozen Dinner"

Mike is trying to spend more time with Sue, so they watch a movie together. This gets awkward in a funny way when the movie has fairly graphic sex scenes. When Mike's brother Rusty comes into town, he gives Sue a very nice necklace, but Mike becomes suspicious of how he got the necklace. Mike ends up discovering that Rusty didn't steal the necklace, but it was one he got long ago that used to belong to their mother, and he planned on giving it to his daughter. It's a sweet ending, and I liked seeing Mike jealous of his brother having a special moment with Sue, but much of the comedy here was rooted in Rusty being stupid, which became a bit much.

Axl gets his first paycheck from his job, and while Mike tells him to be responsible with it, Frankie encourages him to treat himself. However, he ends up taking that too far, buying a gigantic TV. As Axl and Frankie work together to try to be more financially responsible, they talk about writing a book about the topic. The jokes here are alright, as the two talk about what their mascot should be, but not that funny. After that, this story doesn't really go anywhere.

Brick has an entertaining small story this week, as he thinks that the universe is making it up to him after he has been ignored for much of his life. When he goes outside, he finds gifts for him right outside the front door. I thought it was especially funny when he told Frankie and Axl about this, and they didn't really pay attention. At the very end of the episode, Brick delivers the flowers he receives to Cindy, who sees the note in them. It turns out, as I had expected all along, that these things were intended for Sue, and were sent by Sean. I wish the Sue and Sean story had been set aside for this week, as I wasn't really interested in another week of this story when it doesn't actually progress.

This wasn't the strongest episode of The Middle, and Frankie and Axl's story was especially weak. There were still some funny moments though, such as Mike and Sue watching the movie, and Brick thinking the gifts at the door are for him, and there was a sweet ending with Mike and Rusty's story.

Score: 6/10

What did you think of "Guess Who's Coming to Frozen Dinner"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!